Understanding leadership in media: an industry professionals’ view

Section: Sociology of Journalism

This article explores how experts and media industry professionals conceptualize the characteristics of contemporary media leaders and the conditions under which leadership status is formed. The findings indicate that, despite the dynamic nature of the media environment and a high degree of uncertainty, there is little evidence of a distinct shift among current media leaders toward a “transformational” leadership type. In the perception of media professionals, the figure of a leader is only weakly associated with charismatic influence or the ability to inspire a team. These traits are not regarded as defining or critically essential for effective management. Leadership recognition often depends primarily on external circumstances. Increasingly, the most valued competencies include the ability to establish effective communication with all stakeholders – employees, partners, and investors – and to adapt swiftly to the changing conditions of the media industry. Key professional competencies are linked to the creation of relevant media content and its efficient dissemination. Among the main factors influencing the attainment of leadership status are professional achievements, recognition by audiences and the professional community, personal brand development, and systematic reputation management.

DOI: 10.55959/msu.vestnik.journ.6.2025.140162

References:

Achtenhagen L. (2017) Leadership in the Media Industry: Exploring Leadership Phenomena in Europe. Gothenburg: Nordicom.

Appelgren E. (2022) Leadership in the News Media: A Study of Digital Transformation in Nordic Newsrooms. Nordic Journal of Media Management 3 (1): 35–54.

Avolio B. J., Gardner W. L. (2005) Authentic Leadership Development: Getting to the Root of Positive Forms of Leadership. The Leadership Quarterly 16 (3): 315–338.

Chan-Olmsted S. (ed.) (2006) Issues in Media Management and Technology. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. P. 251–274.

Chesnova O. A. (2020) Osobennosti upravleniya proektami v mediasfere v usloviyakh tsifrovizatsii obshchestva [Features of project management in the media sphere under the society digitalization]. Peterburgskiy ekonomicheskiy zhurnal 2: 47–56. (In Russian)

De Hoogh A. H. B., Den Hartog D. N., Koopman P. L., Thierry H., Van den Berg P. T., Van der Weide J. G., Wilderom C. P. M. (2005) Leader motives, charismatic leadership, and subordinates’ work attitude in the profit and voluntary sector. The Leadership Quarterly 16 (1): 17–39.

Gade P., Raviola E. (2009) Integration of news and news of integration: A structural perspective on news media changes. Journal of Media Business Studies 6 (1): 87–111.

Hallin D. (2020) Comparative Media Studies in the Digital Age: Comparative Research, System Change, and the Complexity of Media Systems. International Journal of Communication 14: 5775–5786.

Kachkaeva A. G. (ed.) (2010) Zhurnalistika i konvergentsiya: Pochemu i kak traditsionnye SMI prevrashchayutsya v mul'timediynye [Journalism and convergence: Why and how traditional media are turning into multimedia]. Moscow: Aspekt Press. (In Russian)

Khlopunova O. V., Tsakanyan A. A. (2019) Kompetentsii sovremennogo redaktora: lider ili menedzher [Professional competencies of the modern editor: Leader or manager]. Vestnik Volzhskogo universiteta 4: 159–167.  (In Russian)

Kiarie M., Maru L., Cheruiyot T. (2017) Leader personality traits and employee job satisfaction in the media sector, Kenya. The TQM Journal 29 (1): 133–146.

Küng L. (2020) Strategic Management in the Media: Theory to Practice. London: SAGE Publications. 

Küng L., Picard R., Towse R. (eds.) (2008) The Internet and the Mass Media. London: SAGE Publications.

Linden C. G., Lehtisaari K., Grönlund M., Villi M. (2021) Journalistic passion as commodity: a managerial perspective. Journalism Studies 22 (12): 1701–1719.

Luthans F., Youssef-Morgan C. M. (2017) Psychological Capital: An Evidence-Based Positive Approach. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior 4: 339–366.

Makeenko M. I. (2018) Napravleniya transformatsii teoreticheskikh podkhodov v rossiyskikh issledovaniyakh vliyaniya tsifrovizatsii na media [Transformations of Theoretical Approaches to the Impact of Digitalization on Media in Modern Russian Media Research]. Mediascope 3. Available at: http://www.mediascope.ru/2463 (accessed: 13.10.2025). (In Russian)

Makeenko M., Vyrkovsky A. (2013) Economic effects of convergence in Russian daily press. World of Media. Yearbook of Russian Media and Journalism Studies. Moscow: Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University. P. 144–155.

Mancini P. (2020) Comparing Media Systems in the Digital Age: Comparative Research, System Change, and the Complexity of Media Systems. International Journal of Communication 14: 5761–5774.

Meyers M. C., van Woerkom M. (2017) Effects of a Strengths Intervention on General and Work-Related Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Positive Affect. Journal of Happiness Studies 18 (3): 671–689.

Pérez-Latre F. J., Sánchez-Tabernero A. (2003) Leadership, an essential requirement for effecting change in media companies: An analysis of the Spanish market. International Journal on Media Management 5 (3): 199–208. 

Perreault G. P., Belair-Gagnon V. (2024) The lifestyle of lifestyle journalism: How reporters discursively manage their aspirations in their daily work. Journalism Practice 18 (7), 1641–1659.

Popova O. I. (2020) Vliyanie tsifrovizatsii na potrebitel'skoe povedenie i razvitie SMI [Digital impact on consumer behaviour and media development]. Znak: problemnoe pole mediaobrazovaniya 3 (37): 121–127. (In Russian)

Shataeva O. V., Akimova E.N., Korshunova N.E. (2024) Izmeneniya usloviy truda zhurnalistov v mediaindustrii Rossii pod vliyaniem tsifrovizatsii i ekonomicheskikh vyzovov [Changes in working conditions for journalists in the Russian media industry under the influence of digitalization and economic challenges]. Politologiya 4: 20–27. (In Russian)

Sylvie G., Weiss A. S. (2012) Putting the management into innovation & media management studies: A meta-analysis. International Journal on Media Management 14 (3): 183–206.

Tokbaeva D. (2016) Charismatic Leaders of Privately-Owned Media Holdings in Regional Russia as a Media System Phenomenon. In XVII April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development. Moscow: HSE Publ. 

Tsourvakas G., Zotos Y., Dekoulou P. (2007) Leadership Styles in the Top Greek Media Companies: Leading People with a Mixed Style. International Journal on Media Management 9 (2): 77–86.

Vartanov S. A. (2021) Mediasistema Rossii: strategicheskiy podkhod k analizu [Russian Media System: a strategic approach to analysis]. In Teoriya i praktika strategirovaniya: Sbornik izbrannykh nauchnykh statey i materialov IV Mezhdunarodnoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii. Moscow: Moscow St. Univ. Publ. Pp. 181–188. (In Russian)

Vartanova E. L., Dunas D. V. (2022) Rossiyskaya mediasistema v nachale 2020-kh gg.: vyzovy epokhi neopredelennosti [Russian Media System in the Early 2020s: Challenges in the Age of Uncertainty]. Medi@l'manakh 6 (113): 8–18. (In Russian)

Vazhina E. A. (2022) Transformatsiya menedzhmenta SMI: obzor sovremennykh issledovaniy [Transformation of media management: a review of modern research]. Vestnik VUiT 1 (37): 28–34. (In Russian)

Vyrkovsky A. V. (2016) Redaktsionnyy menedzhment v pechatnykh i onlaynovykh massmedia: protsessnyy podkhod [Editorial management in print and online media: a process approach]. Moscow: MediaMir. (In Russian)

Vyrkovsky A. V., Makeenko M. I. (2021) Vozmozhnosti vliyaniya neinstitutsionalizirovannykh proizvoditeley razvlekatel'nogo i poznavatel'nogo kontenta na auditoriyu [Potential for Non-Institutionalized Creators of Entertainment and Educational Content to Influence the Audience]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universitetata. Seriya 10. Zhurnalistika 5: 74–99. (In Russian)